Conall O'Connell

Dr
Conall O'Connell
AM
Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
In office
7 May 2007 – 28 January 2013
Personal details
NationalityAustralian
Alma materQueen's University Belfast[1]
OccupationPublic servant

Dr Conall O'Connell AM is a senior Australian public servant and policymaker. He is currently an Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research Commissioner.

Education

O'Connell attended Queen's University Belfast, where he studied to attain a Bachelor of Arts (with first class honours) and his doctorate.[2]

Career

Between 1991 and 1997, O'Connell held various positions in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.[1]

By 2005, he was a Deputy Secretary in the Department of the Environment and Heritage.[3] While in the Environment Department, he was involved in authoring a report on biofuels.[3]

O'Connell was appointed Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) in May 2007.[4] O'Connell served in the role until January 2013.[5] During his time as Secretary of DAFF, O'Connell oversaw the inaugural G20 agriculture Ministers’ meeting, the eradication of equine influenza in partnership with the equine industry, and achieved a European wine agreement.[5] He also managed the Australian Government suspension of live export trade with Indonesia in 2011,[6] after Four Corners aired shocking footage showing mistreatment of Australian animals in Indonesian abattoirs.[7] The ban impacted Australia's relationship with Indonesia,[8] and O'Connell and his department had to work quickly to implement safeguards to enable trade to Indonesia to resume.[9]

O'Connell is currently a Commissioner at the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research.[10]

Awards

O'Connell was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2014 for significant service to public administration and governance, and to Australia's agricultural, forestry and fisheries sectors.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b "Departmental governance overview", Annual Report 2008–09, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forrestry, 2009, archived from the original on 13 February 2014
  2. ^ Dr Conall O'Connell, The Crawford Fund, 2011, archived from the original on 4 March 2011
  3. ^ a b "Service stations allowed to use ethanol". The Age. Fairfax Media. AAP. 22 September 2005. Archived from the original on 12 September 2014.
  4. ^ Howard, John (26 April 2007). "Secretary Appointments" (Press release). Archived from the original on 19 December 2013.
  5. ^ a b Ludwig, Joe (1 October 2012). "Minister acknowledges DAFF Secretary for his service" (Press release). Archived from the original on 11 February 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  6. ^ Coorey, Phillip (30 July 2011). "Sigh of relief as live cattle shipments to resume". Archived from the original on 11 September 2013.
  7. ^ "Live animal exports to Indonesia" (Press release). Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Archived from the original on 3 March 2014.
  8. ^ Roberts, George (16 December 2011), The full story.... Indonesia cattle decision linked to live trade ban, Australian Broadcasting Commission, archived from the original on 12 September 2014
  9. ^ Industry Government Working Group on Live Cattle Exports terms of reference, Australian Government, 2 August 2011, archived from the original on 5 March 2014
  10. ^ Dr Conall O'Connell, Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, archived from the original on 21 February 2014
  11. ^ Search Australian Honours: O'CONNELL, Conall, Australian Government, archived from the original on 10 March 2014
Government offices
Preceded by Secretary of the
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
2007 – 2013 		Succeeded by


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